hi!

looking for "shanghai baby" and "candy", need to read it for a paper i'm writing. do you know if i can find those books in shanghai? (in english, off course). already tries at the foreign language bookstore and the one in times square but no luck.

many thanks!

I read last week that "Shanghai Baby" is banned by the Chinese government.

That doesn't mean you can't buy one in Shanghai, just they won't be out in the open. If you know of someone entering the country soon, you might ask them to bring you a copy (but that might be illegal).

You don't really want to read Shanghai Baby. It's pretentious amateuristic crap. But it's indeed banned.

i know the book is banned, but i've seen so many people around reading it so i thought that maybe the english version is available here.

zaq - yes, i know it's crap, and that's why i haven't read it so far... even got the book as a gift before leaving to shanghai and exchanged it. however, seems as i have to read it now for a paper i'm writing.
thanks anyway!

Now that someone brought the topic up, whatz that book about??? I picked it at the airport but changed my mind @the counter. It didnt sound like worth for any thought... maybe could be a fun reading for those who is living, once lived or considering to live in Shanghai???

I think that just because it's banned the book attracted a lot of attention. Although it is crap, it was kind of a mile-stone and paved the way for books like Beijing Doll, which is a slightly better book, and may have influenced the likes of Mu Zimei and her blogs. I think illegal Chinese copies are widely available, not sure about English copies, there is probably less demand for those in China.

contact me if you still need it. I have a personal copy here.

many thanks yu, but already had a friend to send me both books from the US.
but thanks again!

DragonAss wrote:Now that someone brought the topic up, whatz that book about??? I picked it at the airport but changed my mind @the counter. It didnt sound like worth for any thought... maybe could be a fun reading for those who is living, once lived or considering to live in Shanghai???

It has to be one of the worst books I have ever read. Don't think I even managed to finish it. A woman from Shanghai who lives with her German boyfriend... her daily life and openess towards sex. No one would ever have heard about it if it hadn't have been for the ban.

I had lived in Shanghai for about three years when I read it... was kind of fun to see places that we all go mentioned... but that alone didn't do the trick.